People often think they know better than you in life. Sometimes they think they know you better than you know yourself - and, you know what? Sometimes - they're right!
However, in most aspects of life, the lovely thing is that you get to choose whether to allow someone else to be right about you - especially when it comes to what you can and cannot achieve. For instance, if they think they have you all figured out and you don't like how scarily right they seem, it becomes your mission to prove them WRONG.
You can do this at any time, any where. Remember, it's never too late to show someone up and come out victorious.
And that is why, against all odds -and without the aid of sight - this year, right after my latest eye surgery, I decided to carve a pumpkin for Halloween.
Please don't tell me I can't, it only ever encourages me more... ;-)
Dear Listener,
They say, in radio, you have to be a good story-teller, so here is my story.
I hear that the key to success in the media industry is networking; knowing the right person at the right time. But, Listener, how do you network when you can't see who you are networking with?
Take sight out of the equation and everybody looks the same. They tell me, "It's all done online these days" but, of course, you have to meet in person eventually... So, what would you do, Listener? Do you lead with your vulnerability? Do you highlight the one problematic part of yourself you wish to minimise the most? Or do you, as I have done, smile and pretend, without having a clue what is really going on around you?
It seems crazy to me that I have lived across the world and achieved a nationwide radio award in America, and yet my greatest struggles are right outside my front door at home. I so long to be that pro-active go-getter who impresses everyone with her daring and gains instant gratification for her confidence. The trouble is that I can't see who I need to pro-actively go get to impress in the first place.
In my heart and mind, I have just as much passion and ambition as anyone else and, you know what Listener? Sometimes I wish I didn't. That way, I might not understand the heart-break and the frustration behind having something physical, which can sometimes keep me bound in blind isolation.
I don't want to forgo my dream because of the way I was born. It seems ironic to me that I spend so much time worrying about my vision, when all I've ever really wanted is for someone to listen.
Note from Author:
I often get frustrated with the fact that I can't simply pin-point a person, walk up to them, know who they are, call them by their name and start a conversation. It is something so powerful and almost miraculous to me, yet something which anyone who doesn't have a visual impairment can take for granted and struggle to see the complications for those who find it difficult do so. After all, it's not that I don't want to approach people - and the thought that this may make those around me assume I am unsocial and uninterested breaks my heart, because I am an extremely outgoing individual inside.
I am constantly reading stories of how some people swoop into the radio environment, make the tea for everyone without being directed and carve an instant career for themselves in the industry. Now, unless someone directed me towards the kettle, I would never find it - or the recipients of the tea for that matter - and, if you really want to set yourself a challenge today, try making cup of tea blind-folded. Believe me, it's more terrifying than you think!
This factor plays out in both professional and social situations. It makes me so incredibly upset that I can't reach out to others in the way I so strongly desire to sometimes. However, that is why, when someone reaches out to me, it means so much more than any fully-sighted person might ever understand or experience. It is a feeling I treasure and a warm, open hand held out for me to take hold of.
After that, I spend the rest of the time we share repaying them for their kindness. In short, that clever person has just found themselves a keeper!
